


Lullaby and Goodnight

by CrazyTaraWitch



Series: SQ ficlets [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-20
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-18 18:08:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3578955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyTaraWitch/pseuds/CrazyTaraWitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After returning from Neverland, Henry begs to have both his mothers close for the night. When he wakes in the night, his mothers are there by his side.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lullaby and Goodnight

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to make these silly little tumblr prompts (ridiculous AU ideas, 'imagine your OTP' posts, etc.) into a series, but stories will be unconnected unless otherwise stated. They will also be short, silly, and just for fun, with little if any editing; basically what I can write in 20-30 minutes when the fancy strikes.  
> I lost half of this story and had to rewrite it, so apologies if it feels a little disjointed. …Also it's absurdly sappy, but that I'm not apologizing for.

When they return from Neverland, Henry begs to have both his moms close for the night; it's not hard to convince them because neither woman wants to let him out of their sight. Things get awkward after Henry goes to bed and the two women stand self-consciously outside the room where they just put their son to bed together for the very first time. It's still early but they have no idea how to act around each other now, after all their time working together in never land and now back in Storybrooke, in Regina's house just the two of them for the first time since the apple turnover. Emma mumbles goodnight and enters the guest bedroom where she settles into bed and lays awake for hours.  
  
Regina hears the cries first; it's been years since Henry's woken in the night but she still has a mother's instinct. By the time Emma slips on her shorts and makes it down the hallway Regina is sitting on the bed beside their son and singing gently as she cradles him against her. Emma's whole chest feels warm as she hovers in the doorway, watching in awe and wondering how many moments like this she missed over the years.

  
It's not long before Regina sees her and inclines her head as if to ask what she's waiting for. The sheriff enters the room quietly, not wanting to startle Henry who is already starting to drift off again. She sits at the foot of the bed and tries not to stare as Regina's eyes drift closed, her lullaby getting softer. Henry is pressed into her right side with her arm draped around him and they look so perfect like this; Emma feels so happy that they have this and so sad she never has.

  
She wasn't there to raise Henry and she doesn't know what songs to sing when he's afraid. She never had a mother to hold her in the night and make her feel safe. Even now there's a part of her that feels alone, that wants to cling to this moment and pretend she's a part of this, that aches to be part of this tiny broken family that is so full of love.

  
Emma startles when Regina speaks, eyes still closed. "He's asleep now Miss Swan; you're welcome to go back to your room."

  
"I'm good right here," Emma counters. In this moment there's nowhere she'd rather be. But Regina looks at her and her eyes are so so soft, and Emma has the familiar feeling that Regina sees more than Emma ever meant her to. "I couldn't sleep anyway," she admits after a moment.

  
"I suspect I won't be sleeping much either," Regina says ruefully, "since I appear to be trapped under our son."

 

It still warms Emma's heart every time she hears those words, from either of their mouths. Our son. No more fighting, no more shouts of 'he's mine!' no more of Henry in the middle being pressured to pretend he felt nothing for the mother who raised and loved him for a decade or being begged to leave behind the mother he'd only just found. Now it's she and Regina side by side, a team, and she hopes desperately it can stay like this. The three of them. A family.

  
She longs for more moments like this, even if she's just on the edge watching it all. Just seeing Henry happy with his mother is so much more than she could have hoped for before she came here.  
"It's nice though," Emma says finally, "the kid like this. He's lucky to have you."

 

The room is only dimly lit from the light Emma turned on in the hallway, but she thinks she sees a faint blush tint Regina's cheeks. She's wearing one of those smiles that looks so happy and so pained all at once, and Emma speaks again without thinking. "I wish I had someone to help me to sleep like that."

 

Regina cocks her head slightly, and even though it's dark Emma can feel the intensity of her stare. Emma begins to feel self-conscious again as more than a minute passes before Regina speaks. Finally she quirks a dark brow and asks, "Well, what are you waiting for?" Emma's brow furrows in confusion and with a roll of her eyes Regina motions to her lap.

  
Regina has her right leg folded against her, Henry pressed along her thigh and her foot under her left leg with her left foot nearly touching the floor where it dangles off the edge of the tiny bed. Emma wonders how she can possibly be comfortable like this, but she can't pass up the chance to feel just a little closer to the woman who keeps everyone at a distance. She tentatively scoots up the bed and hesitantly lays her head against Regina's thigh, skin warm and smooth under her cheek. Emma refuses to think about exactly how close she is to other parts of Regina's body but allows herself to revel in this moment. She shifts to lay right against Henry and drapes an arm across his stomach.

  
Regina's voice is gentle when she starts to sing again, so quiet Emma can't make out the words but she closes her eyes and allows herself to feel the music wrapping around her, Regina's rich voice deep and warm. She feels so light and yet wrapped up tight and safe all at once, and for a fleeting moment she allows herself to imagine what it would be like to always have this.  
  
Emma knows the exact moment Regina thinks she's fallen asleep, because her hand comes to rest against her head. As nimble fingers play with her hair and dance across her forehead, the light touch feels like a goodnight kiss.


End file.
